An anthropological writing (Feb. 3rd, 2023) by Tongtong (Petra) Yang for the course Anthro 216GH: Case Studies in Global Health
Local Biologies sees biology and culture as contingent changing bidirectional influencers of each other, and, in turn, lead to biological differences in certain space and time (Situated Biologies) (Lock, 2017). These interactions are biosocial differentiation (Lock
& Nguyen 2010). Symptoms of certain conditions and both the social and cultural aspects of people differ from one society to another (Lock & Kaufert, 2001).
While Lock (2017) suggested that epigenetic adversity resulting from exposures to toxins are intergenerationally transmitted, neuroscience research by Marlin Lab showed that trauma can be inherited. Offspring can inherit, via germline DNA, the way a parent body responds to trauma. This phenomenon is transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. Furthermore, the concept of mismatch pathway is evident in offspring of Jamaica malnutrition (Forrester et al. 2012) and those of the Dutch Hunger Winter famine of 1944-1945 who had higher rates of physical illnesses and mental disorders.
Lock would respond to Marlin Lab that research on transgenerational epigenetic inheritance needs to go beyond the protocols and standardized lab environments, just like bell hook’s critique on the co-existing reality of imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy. Lock (2017), “owing to space limitations,” did not write about how experiencing trauma influences development throughout lifespan; I will discuss, based on research by The TRUST Lab at UCLA led by Dr. Ng, local and situated biologies in Ethiopian and Botswanan people with Bipolar Disorder, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and several mental illness (SMI).
Dr. Ng’s research showed one-directional correlational relationships between biology and environment, but not culture. Both study groups at Mass General Hospital in the US and rural Ethiopia suggested positive correlations between traumatic experiences and social functioning, where traumatic experiences were the predictors. Based on epidemiologic data, rural Ethiopia showed lower awareness of mental health, and stigma and discrimination, compared to US mental health. However, lifetime prevalence of bipolar disorder in Ethiopia, physiological pain of people diagnosed, social concerns of them fulfilling their roles, and health burdens on hospitals do not tell the complete story of culture about bipolar disorder in Ethiopia. Nor did current research demonstrate how culture influences mental health in Ethiopia, let alone with how interactions between biology and culture create biological differences between people in Ethiopia and other places in the world.
Ametaj et al. (2021) concluded that the team had developed a culturally appropriate psychological intervention for people with bipolar disorder in rural Ethiopia. They followed several steps for this development: a systematic review, a qualitative study with people with bipolar disorder and their caregivers, and workshops engaging mental health “experts” and other stakeholders. The intervention was an adaptation to psychotherapy methods used in the US like psychoeducation and problem-solving and behavioral techniques. Although workshops and interviews gathered information about mental health conditions in rural Ethiopia and the intervention included “Working with the community and religious leaders, and HEWs,” understanding of local culture was limited.
Molebatsi et al. (2021) developed another culturally adapted intervention for people diagnosed with PTSD and other mental disorders in Botswana. The team was concerned with the feasibility of carrying out psychological interventions like CBT since training in therapy was limited in Botswana. Feasibility due to lack of “training” and translations of intervention plans into local languages and incorporation of local norms and concepts were the “adaptation.” Again, the team ignored the interactions between biology and culture and the changing nature of biology and culture.
People might take biosocial differentiation and use it to reinforce biological determinism, the false belief that there are essential and immutable biological differences among humans. Examples include racial essentialism (Rhodes & Mandalaywala, 2017). We should be mindful of attempts using biosocial differentiation to create essential differences in favor of certain people. Instead, local and situated biologies should be used to a) explore the nuanced and changing interactions between biology and culture, b) promote that health has an effect on everybody.
How do biological and cultural changes match/mismatch to the time needed to analyze local biologies? We look forward to more implications of Local and Situated Biologies.
Bibliography
Carcea, I., Caraballo, N.L., Marlin, B.J. et al. Oxytocin neurons enable social transmission of maternal behaviour. Nature 596, 553–557 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03814-7
Rhodes, M., & Mandalaywala, T. M. (2017). The development and developmental consequences of social essentialism. Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Cognitive science, 8(4), 10.1002/wcs.1437. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1437
Forrester TE, Badaloo AV, Boyne MS, Osmond C, Thompson D, et al. 2012. Prenatal factors contribute to the emergence of kwashiorkor or marasmus in severe undernutrition: evidence for the predictive adaptation model. PLOS ONE 7(4):e35907
Ametaj, A. A., Hook, K., Cheng, Y., Serba, E. G., Koenen, K. C., Fekadu, A., & Ng, L. C. (2021). Traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder in individuals with severe mental illness in a non-western setting: Data from rural Ethiopia. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 13(6), 684–693. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001006
Molebatsi, K., Ng, L. C., & Chiliza, B. (2021). A culturally adapted brief intervention for post-traumatic stress disorder in people with severe mental illness in Botswana: protocol for a randomised feasibility trial. Pilot and feasibility studies, 7(1), 170. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-021-00904-1